One of the main appeals of the BK-9 is of course the inclusion of 76 keys which gives a person more real estate on the low and high end. With 61 keys you run out of keys and then you are forced to use the octave +up - down buttons which if not done precisely can ruin a performance lickity split. What also sets the BK-9 apart from other high(er) end arrangers is the much lower cost compared to the PA3XPRO and Audya.

After listening to several other BK-9 demos and the newest Demo 8 posted on this thread I've gotten a better understanding of the power and versatility of the BK-9. Listening to that nice distorted guitar in Demo 8 was really refreshing. It was an excellent patch and almost indistinguishable from a real guitar in my opinion. But... there's usually always a but right?... some of the sounds are less than stellar obviously. For instance the Soprano Sax was okay but nothing to write home about if you ask me. I noticed the trumpet sound in Demo 8 was also a little lackluster but only when pressing certain notes. Which tells you Roland's sample creation on that particular patch wasn't as precise as it could have been in my opinion. I admit I'm very picky regarding sound realism but the goal should be perfection right? Or at least as close as possible. Keyboard manufacturers should take a page out of the playbook from Lexus... the pursuit of perfection. Some people have mentioned that the BK-9 is a step backward compared with the G-70 sounds. I personally don't feel that way but you also need to remember the G70 was a lot more expensive than the BK-9. I did notice that the styles on the BK-9 sounded kind of robotic. We're in the 21st Century so you'd think they could figure out how to make styles sound more natural. Yamaha arrangers also lack in that regard in my opinion.

BTW, I thought the Brass section in Demo 8 was excellent. So there seems to be a little bit of 'hit and miss' regarding the sounds but that's to be expected on all arrangers unfortunately. I do think the plusses outweigh the minuses regarding the BK-9 and therefore Roland should be able to sell quite a few of them based on product marketing alone. In other words, the demonstrations have put it in a positive light and that's very important obviously.

BTW, here is Part 9 (Demo 9) from the series:



The nylon guitar is quite nice in Demo 9 and the string section (more like an Orchestral section) is also pretty good if you ask me. What will likely prevent me from getting a BK-9 is the crummy low-resolution LCD screen(s). If your eye-sight is currently okay it may not be after gazing at the BK-9's fuzzy LCD screen(s) for hours on end... figuring out what exactly you're looking at and/or how to navigate the various menu screens when for all intents and purposes it's rather hard to see things clearly, given the fact the rather small monochrome, low-resolution (and quite frankly fuzzy) LCD screen(s) are more suited for the 1980's than to the 21st Century. Unless of course you already own an iPad and then you'd be alleviated from that dilemma. But if you don't own an iPad - like billions of other people around the world who also don't - then you'll need to fork over up to $700.00 smackaroos for the privilege of seeing things clearly and in color. And that my friends could be a big anchor that drags the BK-9 down and indeed may end up backfiring on Roland and company. I think a lot of otherwise very interested people might forgo getting a BK-9 simply because of the aforementioned lackluster LCD screens. And indeed the almost necessity of purchasing a costly iPad if you don't already own one. Yes, that would be me and billions of other... oh never mind.

But if you can deal with the rinky dink low-resolution LCD screens and/or you already own an iPad... the BK-9 just might fit the bill to what is otherwise a highly capable arranger keyboard in my estimation.

All the best, Mike